It depends. Your tax return may show you’re due a refund from the IRS. However, if you owe a federal tax debt from a prior tax year, or a debt to another federal agency, or certain debts under state law, the IRS may keep (offset) some or all your tax refund to pay your debt.
Sometimes, a married couple's joint tax refund will be seized because of a debt for which only one spouse is responsible. When that happens, the other spouse is said to be "injured" and can file Form 8379 to get at least some of the refund. Form 8379 has four parts:
- Part I is a series of yes-or-no questions to determine whether someone really is an injured spouse and, if so, how to proceed
- Part II provides information about the joint return that produced the refund in question
- Part III is for determining exactly how much of the refund is attributable to the injured spouse and should be released by the IRS
- Part IV is for use only if the form is being filed separately from a tax return; the injured spouse signs and dates this section
You can amend your return to include the Injured Spouse Form 8379, but that form can also be filed on its own without requiring an amended return.
For more information and instructions from the IRS regarding the Injured Spouse Form 8379, click here.
@capiwapi
**Say "Thanks" by clicking the thumb icon in a post
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"
